RRSP, TFSA and RESP contribution time

By Carl Spiess, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, MBA

It is that time of year when we are pleased to help clients decide on their annual contributions and investments. Below, is a link to a good piece on RRSP and TFSA basics. The maximum TFSA contribution room is now $52,000.

In just 8 years since the TFSA was introduced, the Spiess McGlade team has over $20 million invested in our clients' TFSA accounts. And we are pleased that ScotiaMcLeod's TFSA statements are industry leading and show the total contributions made in your TFSA to help keep track of and take advantage of all your available room.

We also enjoy helping clients in their retirement income phase. This year, for our retired clients who are over age 71, we will be making a total of $6.9 million in regular RRIF payments. Ask us for help getting everything set up if you are approaching this important transition time.

You can make your contributions online from most major financial institutions.

Scotia RRSP and tax reporting going online

ScotiaMcLeod is pleased to announce that effective February 13, all your RRSP and other tax receipts from the past 5 years will be available through the Scotia Online secure service. And for next year, you will be able to choose a pure paperless option for all your receipts. We encourage you to contact us for more information or to help you get set up for paperless recordkeeping.

For those making pre-authorized or payroll contributions, you will notice earlier and more frequent RRSP receipts coming from ScotiaMcLeod this year. This provides you with the ability to easily split the amount you claim for 2016 and/or hold on to for 2017 and allows you to do your taxes sooner if you wish. You can of course wait until you have received all your receipts for the first 60 days of 2017.

New performance and fee statements

At the end of January, ScotiaMcLeod's new performance and fee statements will be mailed (or available online for clients who have elected to have paperless recordkeeping). Please contact us if you have questions.

The regulators require us to generate dollar weighted returns which do not allow for comparison with an index. We expect that many clients will be wanting a comparison with index performance and we are pleased to provide time weighted returns in a separate report. Contact us for more information.

Team news

We are pleased to note that Allan McGlade is celebrating 20 years with ScotiaMcLeod. He originally joined our team to focus exclusively on insurance. It quickly became apparent that he excels at investment management and client relationships, as well. Allan has recently been leading our transition to fee-based accounts and discretionary portfolio management.

Thank you Allan for your years of service and ongoing commitment to our clients.

Real estate page updated

Where are the real estate markets headed? How does Canada compare with other global real estate markets? Should you pay down your mortgage or top up your RRSP?

We have recently updated the information on our real estate page with some of the slides we are using in our 2017 RRSP seminars. We also have also added a few new research links with commentary on the Canadian and Global real estate markets.

Fund News: Scotia reducing fees on several mutual funds

We are receiving almost daily news about fund companies reducing their fund fees. One of our largest client holdings is Scotia Canadian Dividend fund. So of interest to many of our clients, the widely held Scotia Canadian Dividend fund F class fee (where the fund is held in a fee based account) drops from .75% to .70%. See:

Have you seen the advertising: Invest With Danoff

Fidelity have a large marketing campaign out called "Invest with Danoff". Will Danoff is a portfolio manager who has added billions of dollars in active outperformance to US investors. Until now, his fund management has not been available to Canadian investors.

As part of our ongoing due diligence on behalf of our clients, the Spiess McGlade team will be at the official launch of the new Danoff managed funds and will review if and how they can help our clients' portfolios. In the interim, you can check out:

We continue to like the Capital Group for their global investment funds and "beyond Canada" perspective on our world. Especially with new policies coming into effect under president Trump in the US, their market updates are well worth checking out from time to time.

® Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. ™ Trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. Scotia Wealth Management™ consists of a range of financial services provided by The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank®); The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company (Scotiatrust®); Private Investment Counsel, a service of 1832 Asset Management L.P.; 1832 Asset Management U.S. Inc.; Scotia Wealth Insurance Services Inc.; and ScotiaMcLeod®, a division of Scotia Capital Inc. ("SCI"). Wealth advisory and brokerage services are provided by ScotiaMcLeod, a division of SCI. Insurance services are provided by Scotia Wealth Insurance Services Inc., the insurance subsidiary of SCI. When discussing life insurance products, ScotiaMcLeod advisors are acting as Life Underwriters (Financial Security Advisors in Québec) representing Scotia Wealth Insurance Services Inc. SCI is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

The Spiess McGlade Team is a personal trade name of Carl Spiess and Allan McGlade.